After Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
by Banryu Wielder
Summary: Cissnei is destroyed by Zack's death. Cloud is alone, and he just buried his best friend. Aerith still waits for the return of her beloved. Scarlet plans an evil project. What happened between Crisis Core and Final Fantasy VII... Finally Revealed!
1. Under a Starlit Sky

Here we go. This fanfiction has been originally written by the Italian author BaschVR, and then translated in English... Hope you enjoy! Of course, the original author will check the reviews, so leave some!

Final Fantasy VII: After Crisis

Far away, the crickets were singing a lost tune.

The starlight illuminated the young girl's face, the red hair covering her eyes, the sighs coming out of her mouth.

Cissnei was sitting on the grass, leant against a nearby rock. Tears fell heavily down her cheeks.

She turned her back to the city, so huge and lighted. But she had gone away... away from illusions.

She had escaped, crying in silence. People had stared at her, at the redhead in jacket and tie who fled away like a coward. Someone had pointed at her, someone had laghed. Or maybe nobody had seen her, nobody had laughed and nobody had been watching. Maybe all she had felt was only real in her mind.

And now, in that glade kissed by the moon's beams, she sighed openly, without the need to hide it to others or to herself.

"I've been following you all night long" said a voice behind her shoulders. An unmistakeable pitch.

Tseng had already tracked her down.

Cissnei dried the tears away from her face. She stood up and stared at him with rage in her eyes.

She looked terrible: the eyes were red and swollen, making her seem untidy and fool.

"So you're here... Go away, I want to be alone" she said.

"I can't leave without you..." said Tseng "Scarlet oredered me not to leave any trail of this affair."

Cissnei looked at him. "Scarlet? How come she gives you orders?"

"Knowing why Scarlet has received the title of Temporary head of the Turks Division is not my business, and neither yours" answered Tseng.

"Oh... Fantastic." said Cissnei without conviction. She knew something about Scarlet's reputation, and that definitely wasn't good news. She turned her back to Tseng, who went on talking.

"I'm sorry! Believe me, I'm really sorry about Zack, but himself has decided to be treated like that in Nibelheim!" Tseng grabbed her hand "I won't say he deserved it, but..."

He wasn't able to continue. Cissnei suddenly turned and slapped to him in the face. Tseng didn't say anything, and kept staring at her.

"So... so that's what you think..." replied Cissnei, poisonously. How could he not understand? Zack... was dead. He would never greet her again, or speak with her, and she wouldn't listen to his jokes, to his encouraging words... How could she live a life without him?

"Come with me." whispered Tseng, still calm.

"No... I don't want to..." said Cissnei

"Scarlet gave me precise orders" repeated Tseng "We have to destroy all traces of bad behavior, it's always like that. The ones who know this story aren't allowed to live outside ShinRa. You have to come with me, cause otherwise I will have to..." He left the sentence unfinished, but the redhead had already understood what he meant.

Of course, one couldn't leave ShinRa and diffuse its secrets everywhere. The company couldn' allow anyone to exit. It was a til death service.

Cissnei looked at her friend's eyes. He wielded the gun in his hand, and she stared at her, waiting for her decision.

"No, Tseng, I won't come back" other tears fell from her eyes "What I have known today has made me think a lot... I can't work for ShinRa anymore, not after what they did to Zack!"

"But why?" roared Tseng waving his arms "You really want to ruin years of work just because of a puppy love? I'm sorry it had to end like this, I can't believe it possible, but this is reality! I accomplished lots missions with him, and I assure you that I miss him a lot! But I'm not acting like you! Damn, I can't understand why you're doing this, Cissnei! How can you decide to renounce to everything just because a friend of yours is gone!?!"

This time, Cissnei didn't reply. She continued to sigh with her head down, unable to look at Tseng.

"We have to go now" said Tseng, when he managed to calm down "I have to look after the Ancient, Aerith. And I can't be late"

He began walkin towards the city, but noticed that the girl wasn't following.

"To me... He was more than just a friend..." she whispered to herself.

"What?" said Tseng, who didn't understand because of the distance between the two of them.

"Tseng..."said Cissnei unsheating her red Shuriken "I'm really, really sorry."

Then, she tossed the lethal weapon against the friend.

She saw the surprise in his eyes, right before he was hit by the shuriken in his face. Immediately, he fell on the ground.

Cissnei approached and checked his wrist. The beats were normal; he had only fainted.

But now... now she refused ShinRa and her previous job. What could she do now? She didn't want to escape forever... In a few days the whole Turks army would have been after her...

"I will think about it tomorrow" she thought, and, fast as a lightning, she vanished behind the hills near Midgar.

Ok, Chapter One is finished... Actually I don't know how many errors I may have made in this translation, but I hope you'll understand, because I'm Italian too...


	2. Travelling

Ok, sorry for being inactive for such a long time, but translating is quite difficult... Thanks for the positive reviews!

CHAPTER 2 - TRAVELLING

Aerith opened her eyes all of a sudden. It was late night and she was home, under the blankets of her bed. It was pitch dark, her mother has probably been sleeping for a long time.

She stood there for a while, with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling of her room. She heard the cries, the music, the clatter, the fun on the Plate; in detriment of all of them, normal people obliged to live in the Slums.

Then she got up, put on her new pink dress, tied the ribbon to her braid and went out of the room.

She wouldn't be able to sleep again that night. Not with that much noise. Unfortunately, Saturday nights were always like that in Midgar.

She walked, her heart filled with loneliness, coasting the marketplace. She passed it, ignoring the boys, drunk after a night of drinking, who were yelling at her.

Walking with determination, she finally reached the ruined church in Sector 5.

She leant against a pillar and slid to the pavement, lost in her thoughts. She pulled out a piece of paper and stared to it with melancholy.

The 90th letter to give Tseng when they would meet again. Just a bunch of useless words, that would never reach him... All the letters she gave to the Turk ended up on a desk, waiting for _his_ return.

Of course she knew it, but she couldn't refrain to write rivers of words about her feelings.

Did Zack ever read one of her letters? She hoped so.

One letter, brought by the wind, could finally arrive to him. And he would read it, he would remember her, and come back to Midgar, to the slums, just for her. And they would feel good, together, and open a flower shop to bring some colour all over the city, and they would buy house on the surface, and she would never fear the sky again. Never.

Those were her thoughts in the last year. Impossible thoughts that would never come true.

"I was worried when I found out you weren't home" said a voice from the church entrance.

"And I was worried about not seeing you here." replied Aerith.

Tseng came out of the darkness and approached her.

"Sorry, I had some work to do" said the Turk

"A battle?"

"What?"

"You have a bad wound on your forehead"

Tseng instinctively touched the cut. It was pulsing a lot, but he felt lucky just for being still alive.

"It was a hard night..." he stated simply.

Aerith didn't talk for a while. Then se found enough courage and asked

"News about him?"

This time, it was Tseng's turn to start thinking. In his mind, he saw an answer for the girl. The Truth.

He could tell her that her Zack was dead, killed by a thousand ShinRa troops. He could destroy her hopes in a moment. He could tell her to start living again, to get out of her dreams, that no hero would come to bring her out of the Slums. That all she trusted in had been killed by ShinRa shots.

He could, but was he really able to do such a thing? Mybe he had to,but surely he couldn't.

"Nothing"

Aerith looked down and took the paper in her hands.

"Another letter?"

Aerith nodded, still disappointed by the absence of news. She still hoped more and more, even after all those years.

Tseng took it. "When I see him, I will give it to him. I promise."

Cloud put himself down next to the fireplace for a while. He had killed a hart to eat, in that lonely forest, and now he felt replete and weary. The fire would give him enough protection against wild beasts, so he could enjoy the quiet of the glade.

He stared to the constellations shining above. He never gave much importance to stars. You couldn't see one in Midgar, and when he went to other places, he had been always too busy to look at them, embroiled in the world around him.

A falling star passed in the sky. It shone for a moment, its tail stayed visible til a few seconds later, then it vanished suddenly like it had appeared.

And the sleep possessed him, and he fell asleep. He sometimes woke up to check out for the presence of animals, but since he didn't find any, he fell again in Morpheus' arms.

The morning after he was fresh, rested, and ready to leave. He didn't even know why, but an idea forced its way through his mind. Return to Midgar. He didn't even know why, but his subconscious suggested so. And he followed those advices.

Cissnei suddenly woke up, like she was having a nightmare. First, she wondered what she was doing lying on the grass, then she remembered everything: after hitting Tseng, she had ran away from Midgar as long as she could, until she fell on the ground, sleeping.

Now, the sun was shining on the hills around her, giving her an evocative scenery she admired for a few minutes, caught by the pale and evanescent solar rays which painted the landscape in hot colours.

It was a striking beautiful dawn, and she would gladly stop there to watch it, but she couldn't. She had to get as far as she could from Midgar.

So, at fast pace, she began walking, trying to avoid traced paths, preferring to remain in grassy areas, hidden from the curious glances that could attest her presence to the people searching for her.

Sometimes she looked behind her, but since no one seemed to be following her, she let herself breath more freely and went on walking, trying not to think about _him._

Slowly, the sun reached the zenit and began to go down to the West. A long road lay behind her, and she finally felt safe. In the afternoon she had seen a helicopter with the ShinRa logo on it, maybe piloted by Reno, but after a quick look it had gone South, behind the mountains. Apparently they didn't see her.

Sunset finally came, and she decided to stop by a little forest, protected enough from people's looks.

She let herself fall to the ground, exhausted, and looked for something to eat. She found some apples, grapes and wild berries, and ate until she totally regained strenght.

After this she took one last look around her, but since she didn't see anyone, she relaxed until sleep took her away with him.

At the same time, in ShinRa Headquarters, a call arrived to the phone of the new temporary Head of Turks, Scarlet.

"What is it?" said the woman.

"We found her. She's in the woods near the Chocobo Farm, at the mountains' foot" said a deep and hoarse voice.

"Good. Take her to me immediately."

The voice smiled.

"Don't hurt her too much, though. I want her alive." settled Scarlet ending the conversation. She sneered cheerfully, then she entered the Meeting Room, closing the door behind her.

END of the CHAPTER


	3. Encounter

Finally, here is the long awaited (?) Chapter 3… I know it's been a while since my last update, but I nearly forgot about this translation… I have to say that, right now, this story is quite old; the original author is already writing an improved (yes, it IS possible) remake, and he keeps telling that these chapters I'm translating are junk… Probably, I will try to translate the Remake (After Crisis – Selfless) too, but it's much more complex and long, so it will be really difficult for my poor English… As for now, enjoy this early version!

Chapter 3 - Encounter

Cloud paced cautiously through the woods. He took a step on a creaking branch. As a crow rasped, his heart skipped a beat. Then there was silence. He made another pace with circumspection, his eyes open wide.

Something moved behind him. He turned, his hand ready to unsheathe the Buster Sword and attack.

Nobody. Was it just imagination?

"This is going to drive me crazy..." mumbled Cloud with his head in his hands. Then, he sheathed the Buster Sword again, and started up through the plane trees.

He checked the map in his pocket, and observed Midgar's position. Not so distant. Maybe another day and a half, maybe a little more. Right now, he was near the Chocobo farm, in a forest leading to Kalm Town.

Midgar... but why should he have to go there? He would never return in Soldier. Not now, after what had happened to Nibelheim. Who or what was alluring him to that hell of a city? He felt bound to those places, without even knowing why. Was it just an absurd shadow created by his mind, or maybe something more?

Behind him, a branch creaked. Anxiously, he turned once again.

No answer. No move. Was it just his jumpiness tormenting him? Was it just his psyche, burning for the most imperceptible movement around? After all, it was a forest, swarming of life forms. If only an owl, a lizard, a random animal gave out sounds, moved ore ate, it was normal that it made noise.

Probably, he was just tired. Yes, it was definitely so.

He started over his path through the forest. As he proceeded, his anxieties kept increasing. He definitely couldn't get rid of the sensation of someone watching him… Evil eyes were staring at him all around. Darkness was their friend: undisturbed, those beings walked on ways contiguous to his, waiting for the time when he would stop, and then… then they would attack…

"Enough!" he thought to himself. He shouldn't have fed the stupid phantasies his brain created.

He looked ahead. To focus on the path was the only way to dispel the other thoughts.

He thus continued walking in the black night. Some miles away, a gray wolf howled at the moon.

And then it happened; he heard a footstep in the shadows. He smiled to himself and pulled out the Buster Sword. This time, someone WAS there.

Cissnei wanted to remain unseen. She feared the Soldier in the clearing, just a few steps from her. She knew he had come for her, to take her and bring her back to Midgar, or even to kill her. Panic took possession of her. She extracted her red shuriken and drew back. The branch she stepped over cracked, giving out a loud creaking sound.

The Soldier suddenly froze. He smiled and unsheathed his sword. It was too dark to see it clearly, but, judging from the first look, it seemed huge. She decided to attack immediately. With an instantaneous dash she came out of the dark, and in a moment reached to the boy, aiming the shuriken to his throat. He didn't try to move. He let her do it, without even changing expression.

"A Turk." he stated.

"Ex-Turk" replied Cissnei, irritated. "And you? You're in SOLDIER, aren't you?"

"Ex-SOLDIER" he answered simply.

Surprised, Cissnei lowered her shuriken.

"So.. Didn't ShinRa send you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No" replied the ex-Soldier.

"Then why were you around here by this time?"

"I could ask you the same…"

"Not your business." Answered Cissnei. "However…" she started, but suddenly stopped. "You… you were with Zack!"

"What?" asked Cloud, for the first time curious. Zack… Who was Zack? He knew that name but… Where did he hear it?

"Yeah! You were with him on the beach, I saw you! It's been a few weeks ago! How… How did you manage to wake up? How…?"

"Don't know what you're talking about" Cloud stopped her "I guarantee I never met anyone called Zack."

He was lying, but not entirely, since he could just remember the name of that hypothetical person.

Without even knowing the reason, Cloud put away the Buster Sword. He felt like he could trust the girl, the aura she gave off was kinda… He couldn't find the exact word to describe it. Reassuring? Yes, maybe reassuring was the right word.

"Your name?" asked Cloud

"I'm Cissnei" replied the girl "And you…?"

"Cloud"

"Fine, I recall a name like that…" she concluded, a little less suspicious.

"What?"

"I read your name in the ShinRa archives. Cloud Strife, born in Nibelheim, infantryman of ShinRa Inc. Well, I didn't think they meant First class SOLDIER with "infantryman"."

"Wait, where did you read a thing like that?" asked Cloud. He didn't know why, but the topic made him feel discomfortable.

"In your desertion statement."

Silence fell between the two for a moment, while neither of them managed to say anything, and waited for the other one to speak.

Cloud felt very confused. Zack? Desertion statement? What was happening to him? What was happening to it all? He couldn't find a reasonable explanation. If Cissnei really wasn't lying, then there really was something strange going on.

A noise diverted his attention from the mess in his mind. Once again in that endless night, he had heard a strange sound.

"Did you hear that?" he said, extracting the Buster Sword.

"No, what?"

"A noise, like… like someone's walking around here." he muttered.

Another creak. Dry twigs breaking. Autumn leaves crushed under somebody's feet.

"Stay close" said Cloud, and Cissnei approached. Then she lifted her Shuriken, also ready to fight.

The ShinRa elite sniper had listened to the whole conversation. He didn't know who the blond Soldier was; the mission brief only ordered to hit the girl on a shoulder to prevent her from escaping, and to bring her in the presence of Director Scarlet. But now that could be an additional problem. What to do about him? Well, he had clearly heard that he was an ex-SOLDIER… then he probably was to be considered a menace to the company. Perhaps, if he shot him, he could even be rewarded for his services!

He decided to run the risk and fire two rapid shots; the former to the girl, the latter to the SOLDIER. And the latter had to be lethal.

He moved the left foot to bend the knee, and aimed the rifle's barrel to the red haired girl, who was looking around with the Shuriken in the hand. Did they hear him? Well, no big deal. They would be both hit anyway.

He checked if the rifle was pointing to the shoulder, but as he looked at the girl, he was struck by sense of repulsion for what he was going to do.

She was very young… Could he really do something that horrible?

Inexplicably, the barrel was shaking, as was his hand. But what was happening to him? That girl had something… magnetic, yes, and she appealed him. No, he could never shoot; he would never shoot.

But he had to shoot! Those orders were directly from the new Director, and he had to make a good impression, and… If the two rebels were to capture him, they surely wouldn't be so kind to spare his life.

His hands still shaking, he aimed to the girl's back. A shot echoed throughout the whole forest. A fraction of second after pulling the trigger, the sniper realized that the hand's tremble had changed the bullet's course. If the girl was murdered, he would undergo some really serious trouble. He prayed that the shot would not kill her.

When Cloud heard the shot, he instantly located the sniper, hidden by the leaves of a group of bushes.

"Stay down!" he shouted, pushing Cissnei to the ground.

"Cloud!" she cried, worried.

A moment later, Cloud got hit on the chest by the stray bullet. He looked at Cissnei with his eyes wide open for a second, then he flopped down to the ground.

Cissnei would have wanted to help him, but first she located the sniper, who was trying to fire again. Full of rage, she clasped the Shuriken and whirled it, cutting through the air, until it clashed with the face of the sniper, who suddenly collapsed to the ground and fainted.

"Cloud, Cloud!" cried the girl, kneeling to the ex-Soldier's side.

He was completely still, maybe passed out, but he still breathed. The bullet had entered through the chest, and had come out from the back too. She hoped it hadn't damaged any organ; however, she had no time to think about it. Now she just had to find a quick way to stop the haemorrhage.


End file.
